Burning MMO Questions

I spent Labor Day switching between EVE Online (I bought a frickin badger!), listening to Wilhelm, Darren, Potshot, and Adele along with others on the Shut Up. We’re Talking podcasts.  I mention the podcast (2nd time in two days) because the conversations circled around a number of issues I find central to my gaming experience–in fact, these are essential questions I must answer in order to enjoy a gaming title.

• How linear is the experience/leveling system?  After reading various articles around the MMO community about what I term “non-traditional” leveling systems, I realized my gaming behavior is somewhat addictive.  I find a game and a character and I tend to focus exclusively on that ‘toon until either I become bored or I max out the leveling ladder.  I always need to advance.  Once a toon is maxed out, I may raid for a while, but I always have an alt that seems to be the new focus of my gameplay.  This may be why I am still terribly uncertain about my EVE subscription.  If it doesn’t stay fun–for instance, in 30 days I have to train skills for weeks to advance, I will probably be done with space.  For raid toons, I can stand to play them the couple times I week I have time to sit and raid, but the alt always gets my attention once I reach this stage.
• This may seem paradoxical, considering the above statement, but I also ask what is the relative level of complexity in the game?  If it is a simplistic point, click, kill, move on then it lacks entertainment value for me.  Without devolving my from my point, I think this is one of the real misconceptions about World of Warcraft.  Despite the seemingly stylistic and simplistic graphics, UI, etc., successful players need to utilize all the resources available to them–from crafting, enchants, spec trees, etc.  With the addition of group content, the game multiplies in complexity just as more “hardcore titles” do.  I must admit, the increasing complexity of EQ2 since launch, coupled with the polishing of the title, has made this a good fit for me.
• How easy can I two-box this sucker?  This is a more recent question.  I am a committed two-box player now, with the exception of EVE (but it’s still early in space for Gaff).  WoW failed in this aspect–the speed of encounters precluded the use of two accounts for anything more than spot healing and buffs.  The inability to really manuever and hold aggro as a tank class also eliminated the lifespan of any real two-box productivity.  Compared with a title like Everquest II, where I could two-box through most content including many (though not all) raid situations, and my playtime’s productivity is doubled, in my opinion.  This also allows me to answer the first question at twice the rate I once gamed.
• Who do I know playing this game already?  I must admit, I have been a follower for much of my gaming career.  A couple bright spots are the exception, for instance I found MUDs on my own in the early 90s and led a small band of EQ2/EQ1 veterans to WoW several years ago.  I really don’t go into a new title looking to meet people.  This is not to say I don’t enjoy the “Massive” part of the MMO equation, but I just am not out to make new friends.  The guild I share in EQ2 is made up of people I played with since the 90s, along with a couple newbies, having only known them for a little over 3 years.  However, an online world full of people I don’t know is perferable to one that is empty.

Ironically, as I was drafting this post, the Shut Up people mentioned their belief that the journey to the endgame is more important than the payoff–loot, masters, purples, etc.  It sums up my approach, and what I’m looking for in a title today.  After feeling somewhat let down by LotrO, I am a bit gunshy about purchasing anything new–hence my foray into space and EVE Online.  EVE also fits one last criteria, Can I play this game and still focus on the game I really like?

Gaff in Space

After yet another hiatus, I return to update!  Several factors, all of them mundane, have driven me from posting of late.  However, I seem to be breaking new ground in a number of directions.  First, I have subscribed to EVE Online. The game is mostly a mystery so far, despite some help from Wilhelm.  I am currently training some basic skills, but am stuck trying to figure out the skill system as a whole.  I can’t bring myself to pay another $20.00 for a second account, so I will be skipping the two-boxing experience for now.  I did print off a mining guide this morning, but need to do some more digging for online resources–read “Ask Wilhelm for links.”

New podcast:  Shut Up. We’re Talking.  I have not had a chance to listen to the entire library of older shows, but kudos to the evolving crew of hosts and guests.  It is worth a listen.

Everquest 2: I can’t seem to stay away from this game.  I especially can’t stay away with both my accounts–this time I have essentially forgone any hopes of raiding, as my old guild reformed into a “hardcore” (their words) raid guild, requiring 75% attendance.  This is not suited to those of us with full time jobs that start before 7 am.  Instead, I am enjoying the freedom of playing a variety of characters with little to no goals in mind.  Instead, I am focusing on harvesting (to keep my drink cash flow going) and leveling two new toons, a warlock and inquisitor.  The beauty of EVE’s “waypoint and forget” travel allows me to harvest in both games while still watching a movie on the other monitor.  Yay for multitasking.

World of Warcraft:  A friend and former collegue conned me into starting fresh on a PvP server.  I made a druid–the 6th or 7th so far, and ground it out to 44.  EVE and EQ2 took care of that problem, though the account is still live.  It is still up in the air as to whether I will return.  I was ganked far fewer times this incarnation than before Burning Crusade–apparently some of the 70s have found better things to do.

Lord of the Rings Online:  Despite the heat issues, LotRO failed to deliver, at least for me.  I am surely not unique in my viewpoint, but suffice to say the only real impression that the game made with me was its graphics.  They are unique and well-crafted.  However, being in a great looking game with nothing to do makes for a boring afternoon.  Both accounts have been cancelled.

Overall, I think I have been most impressed by the graphics and soundtrack of EVE Online, though these have been lauded elsewhere.  In EQ2, my discovery of “Darklight Wood” and its host of quests has kept my new duo busy–they will soon graduate to a T3 zone, where I must decide whether EoF or Nek/TS is a better fit.

Flow

Before I make my point, a brief timeline is necessary.  I started playing in the role playing/fantasy gaming genre modestly– Advanced Dungeons and Dragons in the early 1980s–I dabbled with Middle Earth Role Playing when it came out, bought several of the Battlemech roleplaying books, and read a lot of the sci/fi and fantasy genre.  When I first got hooked into the internet, around 1991, it was through an IBMVM machine that was roughly the size of my living room.  With that connection, and a telnet client, I found the world of MUDs MOOs and MUSHs, my first experience with online MMOs.  I played that game online, almost exclusively, until switching to Neverwinter Nights, Everquest (briefly), Everquest II, and World of Warcraft.

I have made many friends, a few enemies, and had a good time playing each of the above titles–the term “flow” comes to mind, which has become popular in recent times amongst pyschologists.  In short, it is the part of your life where you feel most fulfilled.  Where you feel active, alert, using as many of your physical and/or mental facilities as possible to accomplish a goal you deem important.

Which brings up one of my two points:  the first grew from a post on Dwarven Runes concerning relationships between people in an online enviornment, entitled “More Than Just a Game?” If playing an MMO, whatever title you perfer, fills the above defintion of “flow,” then isn’t that justification enough for playing?  Is there a reason, providing your enjoyment of gaming is not detrimental to yourself or your family, you should feel pressure to not admit your pasttime to others?  Is it fear of being labeled?

Secondly, and more to specific to me, why do I not enjoy PvP (player versus player) servers?  I think the best experiences I ever had with PvP were in World of Warcraft.  The battlegrounds were fun, at least for a time, despite the inherient imbalance between the two factions–please don’t argue this point–with a random sampling of some 8 million, the horde tends to dominate certain BGs, the Alliance others.  I think across the board this points to game mechanics, and not the more oft heard argument, “Hordz r l33t.”

Recently, Wilhelm asked if I would like to try a PvP EQII server, as the hosts of the EQ2-Daily.com folks do.  I responded with a negative, and then tried to figure out why I didn’t like the idea.  Another friend, who used to work with me and still breezes through my current building, left the WoW raiding guild and server where we both played to begin anew on a PvP server.  I had tried the same thing, and leveled as far as 30 on a Tauren Druid, then decided being griefed and ganked by level 60s all day wasn’t for me.  It reeked of something called “pkill.”  The term may not of originated on Toril MUD, but it is the first place I remember seeing it. 

Pkilling is literally “player killing” and was illegal on Toril, as on a number of other MUDs, while some servers were dedicated to the practice.  I am unsure if being indoctrinated for so many years with the idea that pkilling was wrong or if just being harrassed by higher levels quenched my desire to play against other players.  It has no draw for me, and probably never will.

Or, I am just not experiencing “flow” when engaged in PvP.  It isn’t the best use of my time or resources, at least in my own mind.

Searching for the Week

As a number of people have pointed out, you get some interesting search terms after putting up a body of text on the internet.  By far the leading search terms contain something related to “Trot Lines,” “Trot Line Floats,” “Regulations,” etc.  FYI, there is a tab at the top if you are here looking for my write up on how to fish with a trot line.

Some other search terms are a bit more cryptic.  For example, these gems from the last week (pardon the caps, I am reposting as they were entered by the searcher):

• WHAT IS A MMORG RAID   
  • The successful dealer gives his client the first few “fixes” for free–after that it is a 6 hour dungeon crawl you have to pay for–you may not like what you find!
• EQ2 2 Box Classes   
  • When I first read this I thought the person was looking for a class on how to two box–now that I get it I’m not nearly as amused.
• Everquest 2 named mobs   
  •  Do you have some time?  See the first bullet.
• free college essay on comparision  
  • Okay, as a teacher this just offends me.  Whoever you are, I’m going to find out you didn’t do your paper.
• Have Gambling Problem 
  • Again, if you have an addictive personality, this game/genre is not for you.  It is like methadone; not quite as good as the real thing but a must-have anyway.

 The winner, for sheer uniqueness, Lani-pedia.  I know it was you Lani–your just looking to see what we are saying about you.  What’s next?  Lani-wiki?

Oh, and the random link of the week, something about Line Art.  This just goes to show you, linking me will get you a link back!  I have no clue how I ended up on this site, except that I once used the word “art” to describe getting ‘toons to path correctly on autofollow.

Boon of Rested Experience

There are two advantages, in relation to EQ2 and WoW, to having a full-time job.  One, you are always earning rested experience while your away, and two, you do not risk burning out by playing every waking hour.  The biggest disadvantage I have found, of late anyway, is I do not have time to deal with crafting.  I refuse to pay large sums of coin for raws, so I harvest with my highest level toon.

In fact, I got up extra early this morning to watch the news, drink some coffee, and harvest for a few minutes before going to work.  By the time I had the news up and coffee in hand, harvesting didn’t look all that appealing, especially as I knew I wouldn’t want to waste precious time in a tradeskill instance instead of working off the rested XP I have waiting on my duo.

The genuine boost granted by rest is one clear advantage in EQ2 versus WoW.  I never earned enough rest during a day with WoW.  It was gone within 20 minutes of playing in the evening.  I am hard put to use up the rest in EQ2, even on a weekend sometimes.  Questing helps–pushing the bar back further, but knowing you are earning the maximum XP for your buck, that is a good feeling.

I also have all my bonus XP pots laying around.  Sometime when I do have grind time I will have to catch up on crafting.

Console Gamers Update

After thinking it over, I was remiss in not linking the Se7en Samurai article which responded to The Common Sense Gamer’s first article mentioning the topic.  I avoided it only because I felt it was WoW specific, and I was trying to stick to my current game of choice.  It seems, in my analysis, to take exception to TCSG’s characterication of WoW as some sort of control group for the study of “asshats and battlenet kiddies.”  Se7en Samuri’s rebuttal is concise and friendly–there are a lot of good players in WoW.

Kilanna, in a comment to my original article, mentioned that some EQII servers bear a similiar reputation–players have “less than completely enjoyable gaming experience[s] due to a minority of the population.”  While I have not played on other EQ2 servers, I have had my share of bad experiences on good ‘ole Crushbone.  I mentioned sometime ago that I was actually threatened by another tradeskiller for selling armor at too low a price in the early days of the game.  I think that kill stealing, node stealing, and other infractions are still fairly common in EQ2.  The fear seems to be that large numbers of player inundating the MMO world will lead to the most egregious behaviors becoming more commonplace.

P@tsh@t has written on this topic as well–it appears the original post from TCSG is taking on a bit of momentum.  P@tsh@t has a bit of a different take, and is worth a read–his idea of player feedback is a good one.  He also defined the real difference between console-style gaming and the PC persistent world:

No, its definitely the fear of asshatery that contributes to my bias.  Most multiplayer console games haven’t had the opportunity for the most fundamental characteristic of MMOs:  persistency.  Without persistency, there is effectively zero disincentive for asshatery.  There are simply no persistent social consequences.  Be bad, get kicked, relog with a new name, full reset.  No consequences. 

TAGN has a unique perspective, as usual, on the feedback option–apparently he meets asshats in all sorts of places.  His narrative is worth a read if your interested in a feedback feature for MMOs.

To clarify my stance on the issue, I think group dynamics are incredibly important–and when I say group perhaps I should substitute “server.”  The number of different people in a given “room” or “channel” will contribute to how people behave.  Statistically, the more people playing a given game, the more likely one will see anti-social behavior, i.e. asshattery.  I do believe growth is good, on the whole, but ignore commands and toggling channels will still come in handy, if we do not see the “player feedback” option offered by P@tsh@t implemented.

Will the Sky Fall…

…if MMOs come to consoles? Over at VirginWorlds.com Brent assesses the situation and surmises “we have no problem.” He mentions that Everquest Online has been a console title for years and it is inevitable that other titles will come to the console market. In fact, some newer MMOs are being released primarily on the console and the PC is the secondary platform, states Brent. These comments and the article came in response to The Common Sense Gamer’s assertion that the console market is much like the World of Warcraft population.  Game Informer reports in the April print issue that The Burning Crusade sold 2.4 million copies in North America–and that was in the first 24 hours of its release.  There are a huge number of gamers out there, as Blizzard has demonstrated.  Whether the genre becomes a console mainstay or continues being a PC-specific activity, we are going to see increasing numbers of players.

I have to agree with TCSG’s assessment, however;  both the console and the WoW population are ones I do not care to game with. The console market will be a problem for MMO gamers, but I also realize we probably don’t have much choice either. The game manufacturers will seek to put their product in front of as many paying customers (and they hope, subscribers) as possible, and tapping into the console market will help them do that. However, I decided some time ago that the “time sink” and the raid system alone is not enough to keep the “asshats” out of endgame guilds or from generally hindering the enjoyment of the game for normal, sedate, and mature players. WoW is full of people who are experiencing their first MMO and making the mistakes anonymous, selfish people make when there are little to no consequence to their actions, as I wrote late last year. Further, games like Everquest II have brought their leveling system into line with WoW in order to compete and allow for a much greater degree of solo leveling than was common just a few years ago, helping people with no social skills move towards the endgame more easily.

However, there is a distinction between the “loot whore” or the overbearing gaming know-it-all and what the above two posters term “asshats.” In my Clan gaming experience (in [OgV]), beginning with Battlefield 1942, the mod Desert Combat, Battlefield Vietnam, and most recently Battlefield 2, we had a different term for the ignorant and generally malicious FPS denizen who team killed for vehicles, hacked to advantage, and unfortunately, put racist, profanity-laced comments over the in-game channel—that term was “Smacktard.” The connotation that this player is developmentally-challenged applies—they haven’t learned to play the game, and probably won’t because playing by the rules is boring for these extroverts—they need to ruin the game for other players in order to enjoy themselves. I normally “fragged” with the server admin panel up on my laptop so I could ban them without alt tabbing out of the game.  Persistant worlds in games such as Neverwinter Nights also suffered from hackers and unscrupulous players.

I do not have admin permissions on Crushbone, unfortunately. But this is a problem we don’t have to confront on our own, however. We have established guilds, a network of online friends, and a manner of playing that suits us—it is a social experience, which is why most of us continue to renew our subscriptions. If we want to induct new players into the gaming etiquette specific to your MMO, we have to demand these players conform to our expectations if we group with them and certainly if we guild these players. New blood is an asset to games, and more players means a dynamic economy and a lot more choice in grouping and the marketplace. I must admit part of my decision to leave WoW, with both my accounts, was the belief the bad elements of the population would never learn to act like mature individuals and either I would need to join them, or get out—and I chose the latter.

Fifteen years ago, during the heyday of the MUD, MOOs, and MUSHs, you had a healthy “asshat” population, even on a server of 300 players.  This hasn’t changed.  Human nature is static–people have been acting like fools since we came together online–if I searched my memory I could probably come up with examples of this type behavior from my BBS days in the 80s.  We have always had to deal with these people online, and in daily life as Brent points out, if we have any social interaction at all.  However, we tend to remember the bad experiences we have online, and sometimes the view that “all” the other players act that way overwhelms one’s sense of community in a game.

If I evaluate the MMO market objectively, and step back from my personal experiences over the last twenty years, I agree adding a large number of subscribers can be an asset to MMO gaming, though it will undoubtably have a detrimental impact in some areas. How will it work in my current game of choice, Everquest II, if SOE ever decides to put it on the console market? I don’t know. I am not sure how the title would sell, as I am not a market analyst. I do know if I encounter “asshattery” I will try my best to redirect such behavior and help the newbie have a successful experience ingame. I may fail, but if enough players join me in demanding a certain level of play, I think all but the most recalcitrant “asshat” will have to conform, and we already have a goodly number of those type of players, on gaming rigs I’ll never afford, I’m quite sure. In the last word, I will not stereotype the entire console-owning population as “smacktards,” but adopt a wait and see attitude. I think we will all be in for some suprises.

Picture of my Week

EQ2 photography as art?  I did not want to scale this down for aesthetic reasons, so you’ll have to click the thumbnail to decide!

A longtime friend and fellow MUD veteran (the female rat to the left) and my duo have been hunting over the last few days–we were in search of named mobs and AA location XP and happened upon this corner of Steamfont.  I could not resist posing a pic!  The hot water pools in the background are, for lack of a better term, cool.  Gaff, my berserker broke not only level 50, but 51 yesterday.  For those of you interested in stats, that is level 50 adventure, 48 carpenter in 12 days, 23 hours.  I have no idea if that is good or not, I just know it is a fraction of the time it took my first ‘toon.  Lurk, who made 50 the day before, reached that level and 70 provisioner in 19 days, 21 hours of play time.

Other updates:

• I have added a “how to” section for all of the “trot line” driven search terms.  I realize a lot of people find this site looking for information on how to run a line, so I have obliged, complete with pictures.  For the record, I am using that term as an extended metaphor to explain why I ‘blog.  If your curious, it is one of the tabs above–and yes, that is my son and me in the pictures.  They are also real fish–and I ate all of them.
• New links!  Fannypacks of MMO Evolution has been added to my MMO commentary section.  I am still looking for some other sites–I am willing to reciprocate links.
• Congratulations to TAGN for making the EQ2players Town Crier! even if he did it by stealing my “arrow to the head” scoop.   Seven months of daily articles finally netted him some official recognition.  Does this make him a sell out?
• With the help of Wilhelm I figured out how to post thumbnails!  I do not need to overwhelm you with giant image-laden posts.  I reserve the right to post full size pics, however.
• Speaking of pics, I have a new header.  It is the pick of my week, from the other side.

Search Terms and other Housekeeping Tasks

• My most popular search term(s) of late is related to “two box,” “two boxing,” or some derivation thereof–many times it has the key words “druid,” “WoW,” “EQ2,” or some other term attached.  As for two boxing WoW, I only have one article touching on that subject.
• Best search term:  “where is norrath in wow” I refuse to use this site to flame, disparage, or in anyway insult visitors or other people (my ire with TAGN is in good fun).  However, I should clarify that Norrath is specific to EQ2 and not in WoW.  There is a large number of things that each game has implemented, or borrowed, from the other, however.  For example, EQ2 transmuting=WoW enchanting, EQ2 Tinkering=WoW engineering, griffons, etc.
• I did get one search for “biggest mud sojourn toril” which is nostalgic, I think.
• Most of the other searches, when not concerned with how to run a trot line, have some word touching on fae’s, Everquest II, WoW, crafting/tradeskilling, or a specific class.
• Coming soon:  expanded sidebar widgets to include helpful links and perhaps a few podcasts.  I recommend and enjoy EQ2-Daily’s podcast for a good listen.  I also want to thank EQ2-Daily.com for posting links to my articles, and the other blogger around the ‘net.
• Average hits–around 120-130 a day.  I consider that a success!  Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Polish

I won’t bore you with a dictionary definition of polish–I won’t go into the etymology of the word, its language of origin, whether it was Old French or some other branch of what we call Indo-European.  I will say it seems to be the latest buzzword in the blogsphere of MMOs, and I approve of players demanding a high level of attention to detail, as we called it in the the Marines.  What interested me enough to put my thoughts into print, however, was a recent article on VirginWorlds comparing the MMO market as it currently stands, and EQ2 in 2007.  If you want to skip my spin and go to a broader perspective on the subject, I recommend reading their article.

I primarily pay for an online subscription (two in the case of EQ2, and formerly two with Blizzard) because I expect the developers to continually polish their product.  Let me be more specific: by polish I mean fix bugs, add content, revise/refine character models, tweak performance, balance classes, add new graphics, and generally suprise me and improve my gaming experience on a regular basis.  I have played enough persistant NWN worlds, MUDs, and other “volunteer” administered games to recognize the difference, and know you do, in fact, get something for $15 that is of value.

Everquest II, as has been discussed ad naseum from its launch, may have appeared prematurely, may have gone live to compete with that new MMO of the day World of Warcraft, or for some other reason, unknown to me.  What I do know is the current game is a much more playable version of the original EQ2 of November 2004.  As Wilhelm wrote when he returned to the game last fall, “Echoes of Faydwer!  Holy fae wings Batman, I wish this was the game I purchased in November 2004, not November 2006.  Still, better late than never!” (TAGN “November in Review” 2006).  I also believe SOE would have seen the initial momentum of subscribers retained in good part, rather than squandering that playerbase to other titles due to poor “polish.”  As VirginWorlds reports, EQ2 is looking better than ever in the Spring of 2007.

[…] EverQuest II, which has maintained good subscriber-ship without becoming a mainstream success, has reached a level of polish equal to World of Warcraft, and people are starting to take notice. Fans of EQ2 are trumpeting its merits, and rightfully so. It has great depth of content and nice balance between the fast leveling curve of WoW and the grind of its predecessor.

The current size of EQ2–original game plus three expansions–variety of character races and archetypes, and complexity of play (read, challenging), make it a superior title at this time.  I suffered through over a year of WoW, even enjoying it at times, only to see the expansion, for example, moved back close to a year–which was indicative of Blizzards handling, generically, of “polish.”  I hope SOE can learn from their experience with EQ2 and continue to put some “polish” on this title, and even launch “Kunark” with as little downtime as Blizzard accomplished with “The Burning Crusade.”

As for new titles, we have Vanguard to look at as evidence SOE is not concerned with marketing a playable, polished game at launch.  Lord of the Rings Online has had similiar criticisms leveled against its current state.  This begs the question–why is it profitable to launch a game in this condition?  Do SOE and other companies factor in the loss of subscribers due to unfinished or generally unpolished content upon launch over their long-term run for a game?  I have to believe if EQ2 had been a bit more playable in 2004 we would see a  more populated Norrath–though that is not necessarily a good thing, new players can enhance an existing game, providing they have a quality, polished world to explore.

I do not believe I have a particularly fresh take on this subject, but I am curious if anyone knows why companies are releasing obviously unfinished products.  Does the initial sale of the software net them the profits they need?  Should retention of subscribers have something to do with the process?  Each time I have cancelled a MMO account, the company wants a detailed explanation to “improve our product” for other players, so they at least give lip-service to the idea that retention is important.

What am I missing?

Return to Everquest II Raiding–Deathtoll

Sunday night—I proclaimed 6 pm zero hour—no disturbances for dad. I was going to take up endgame raiding with my old EQII guild once again.  I sent the kids to grandma’s (not solely for gaming purposes, but it was convenient), told the wife I had computer-related commitments, poured a large glass of iced tea, and settled down for an evening in Deathtoll.  After zoning in, I had plenty of time to ponder a beholder–damn things were level epic level 73 x3 mobs with an insane AoE.

I was anxious to see how much different it was raiding in EQII versus my more recent WoW endgame experiences. Since my highest ‘toon in EQII is a guardian, and hardly geared to tank such an instance, I was mostly an observer for the entire run—that was fine with me. While I have always prided myself on tanking, this was no time to learn pulls in a new instance, and I was assured my rare, crafted tier 7 armor would be about as effective as cardboard to the mobs inside the instance.

I was on about fifteen minutes before raid time—this proved to be a mistake. It was almost a full hour past the scheduled raid time when we finally pulled the first beholder. Chalk one up for my former guildmates in WoW—both endgame guilds I was in either excluded you from the raid if you were late, or docked your DKP. Other than the late start, I have no complaints with how things progressed.  I really enjoyed the fights–they were fast paced and the Droags are just wicked looking (did I just date myself?)  I think this one was a level 72 epic x 3.

At level 68, a number of the mobs were orange to me—coupled with the fact they were level 73 epic x3s for the most part, and it was exhilarating. I was able to pick up a few AAs to boot.  Since I have just returned, I’m starting out with no real DKP in the bank, so I wasn’t expecting a part of the loot, regardless of what dropped. Besides, I am saving DKP for when both my ‘zerker and mystic are up to raiding level and I transfer them over from my casual guild to “main” status. I should have a little ceremony—I also hope to have some DKP for them.

Positives:

• Rules were clear at the beginning—“guardian X is MT; this person is MA.”
• Teamspeak discipline: only the raid leader and tanks talked, unless someone had a specific, short comment about the fight itself.
• Raid leader instructions were clear and concise.
  There were no debates about strategies, and if clarification was asked for, it was freely given.
• Bidding: while I did not bid on anything, the process was smooth and quick.
• Pace: the raid moved and engaged mobs nonstop which was a relief after the wait to begin.  Even after wiping a few times on bosses, we were back fighting in a matter of minutes.

Drawbacks:

• EQII UI: I have barely modified my UI, but there are so many variables to manipulate in the stock UI that it is difficult to set up a raid-friendly display quickly—no titles/last names, lower graphics, etc. I am also unwilling to add a lot of custom UI stuff to my game.
• The Raid Group window—too big and clunky—in 40 man WoW raids as a healer I could have multiple groups up, some 2x and still see better.
• Length of raids—my last guild ran raids in 2 hour shifts—that was nice for a working guy like me.
• Debuffs—I liked that WoW told me when things were dispelled/buffed—I had to really look close, and that wasn’t enough sometimes, to notice when my targets had lost their buffs.

First impressions of my guild, and it is really new to me as I’ve been gone so long, and raiding in EQ2 again: the content seems more difficult, nuanced, and complex than when I left. It is also a considerably steeper learning curve than tanking in WoW. My “tryout” for one endgame guild in WoW was tanking in a team Molten Core—as a fury build. It went fine, I kept aggro, and was wearing blues. There is no way I could have replicated that in Deathtoll, no matter how good the healers. However, the elements of a successful raid, whether in WoW or another MMORG are ubiquitous. While many of the players we formed the EQ2 guild with at launch are gone, it is still a strong and talented raid force. I am so lucky to have friends that will let a game-hopper like me come back and jump into things.  More pics to come as I have time!