Forums » Off-Topic and Casual Chatter

EQOA: I miss it

    • 2 posts
    June 16, 2015 5:42 AM PDT
    Eqoa was an amazing game for which I have never been able to find an adequate replacement.

    Things I loved about it:

    Starter cities, there was one for every race
    Factions were set up in such a way that I could theoretically get friendly with races who hate my kind.
    There were very few quests
    Leveling was done in groups, who killed mobs endlessly. Good farming spots were coveted.
    There was no in game map
    You used your feet to travel
    Enchanters could charm most anything for a short while
    Summoners had different pet types for different scenarios.
    There was no instancing, if you wanted to charm that ridiculously large bear, drag him across the continent and then let the Freeport guards take care of him: go for it.
    Soloing was nearly impossible depending on you class and attribute setups.
    There was an alternate advancement system! This was amazing, as it allowed you to farm your favorite mobs and not gain a level. But you still gained utility.
    Mob drops were rare
    Unique looking items were super rare

    I remember starting a druid in the treehouse elf city and convincing some random player to help me farm nearby orcs because I knew they could sometimes drop a cloak. It wasn't that the cloak was particularly powerful, I just liked the look. Stuff like that really made me love eqoa. I always got the same cloak for my new characters if they were within walking distance.

    I guess I just felt like writing about that game, what I remember, and how I hope you guys manage to capture a hint of that magic in RotF.

    Feel free to tack on good memories of eqoa, especially if you think the concept would be viable for RotF.
    • VR Staff
    • 587 posts
    June 16, 2015 11:46 AM PDT

    EQoA was fantastic, just unfortunately ahead of its time and also restricted due to some rules.  First, it was a bit early for a console MMO, although I'm glad we were able to blaze a trail there.  Second, we weren't permitted to release the PC client, which I think would have made it more popular and have longer legs.  Great game, though, for sure.

    • 279 posts
    April 1, 2016 2:12 AM PDT

    Miss it too man. So many fond memories. If i could pick a favorite thing it would be all the sweet out of the way camp spots in the huge zones. All word of mouth kind of deal, someone shows you and you show the next group. There was one way out in the dunes between MTG and NRo with tons of clockworks? maybe something else but tons of them and fast repawn and nobody ever went there. Then there are some more propular spots but still out of the way. Who remembers this island?

    All those caymans and crocs :)

     

    Pantheon already looks like it has some similar feel to EQOA. Don't know if any of the devs had a hand in it or even played it, but hope they did.

    Edit: Whoops he posted right above me haha. Awesome guy! 

     


    This post was edited by Pantz at April 1, 2016 4:08 PM PDT
    • 801 posts
    April 4, 2016 3:54 AM PDT

    oh this is the Sony ps version, i always wondered what people ment by EQOA.

    Once announced, i went with the PC version and the addiction kept me playing. Aradune kept us playing non stop for days on end :)

    We had no time to look at anything else lol


    This post was edited by Crazzie at April 4, 2016 3:55 AM PDT
    • 163 posts
    April 5, 2016 10:07 AM PDT

    I'm quite embarassed that I've never looked at this game. While i've seen the EQOA reference in many places, I never knew it referred to a totally different game world. Thanks for sharing.

    • 6 posts
    July 5, 2016 4:42 PM PDT

    EQOA was my first MMO and the only one I played extensively.  I still have pangs of withdrawal/nostalgia thinking back on all the good memories.  

    I was a huge fan of the lvl 17 armor quests - even umpteen alts later I still did every single one for fun and the look of a coordinated set, as well as all the coaches.

    I loved the raid competition too, and the frustration/reward that went along with it.

    The pet classes were awesome - wether it was a druid/chanter with a charmed pet or a nec/mag.

    I liked the death penalty - instead of losing levels/xp, you earned an XP debt to pay as you grinded. 

     

    There is a revival effort going on similar to P99, progress is slow but continuous - one day I hope to play Pantheon and EQOA as my two main time sinks!

     

     

    • 1778 posts
    July 6, 2016 7:47 AM PDT
    Technically it was my first as well. But I went on to FFXI for PS2 and AC for PC. But the time I spent in Beta was fun and convinced me that I could like games like these. Before that the most multiplayer I wanted was Mario Party or Goldeneye CoOp at my buddies house. So in a way EQOA started me on the MMO path. The only reason I initially went to XI instead was because I had 5 RL friends that were. It does make me wonder though. How it might have shaped me as a gamer differently had I stayed with EQOAs?
    • 47 posts
    July 6, 2016 10:51 AM PDT

    I knew i was a bit hardcore when i bought a second PS, moved my 35" Sony CRT to the living room with my other TV, and would 2 box in EQOA!

    • 205 posts
    August 23, 2016 12:02 AM PDT

    I never played it. I never owned a PS2 :(

    • 169 posts
    October 23, 2016 8:54 PM PDT
    It's sad that eqoa went away, but it was Sony that killed that game because of lack of support....they made us an xpac...got it 95% done then ditched it.....they didn't advertise it....the official forums were killed by the moderators...that were also their favorites.
    I really hope this game takes most of its direction from eqoa and eq and not some of the other terrible mmos out there atm.
    Developers of pantheon...please to not ever cave and turn this into what eq1 and eq2 have turned into.


    It's ok bringerz I forgive you. You can make it up to me on rift later.

    Megaera, Ayrlyn...and many others PPO. Server

    • 2886 posts
    November 9, 2016 1:32 PM PST

    I bought the game at a yard sale simply because it had EverQuest on it. I can't remember exactly why I was never able to play it - either my PS2 couldn't connect to the internet or the game code had already been used. Either way, I was happy to just have another piece of EQ merchandise on my bookshelf. The game looks really interesting and I wish I had a chance to play. I hear rumors that there is going to be revival for PS4? 

    • 334 posts
    November 10, 2016 3:43 PM PST
    • 2886 posts
    November 11, 2016 7:46 AM PST

    Sicario said:

    Time to slay the dragon

    This is amazing. If I had seen this on TV when I was younger I probably would have peed my pants.

    • 17 posts
    November 22, 2016 2:29 PM PST
    Eqoa was life for so many years
    • 17 posts
    November 22, 2016 2:31 PM PST
    And no revival for the PS4 I'm afraid, they are trying to revive it via emulator but that's years off
    • 188 posts
    November 22, 2016 3:54 PM PST

    Super lame and unpopular opinion: I hated EQOA.  At the time, I was die hard into EverQuest, and really didn't like the fact that they were expanding it to a console audience... I was resistent to the push towards voice chat... I still remember the ridiculous argument I always made: "MMORPGs are about the dissimenation and analysis of textual and statistical information in a role playing environment."  And in truth, I still wish that was how it played out... I don't love voice chat in these games... but I also prefer a forum environment to Twitch and Youtube.... so that's just an old guy not getting his way.  As time has moved on, I realize that the progress was inevitable.  I do wonder if trying to push the boundaries of the genre is what has left us in this particular environment where there is no true "old school" MMORPG left to enjoy in the major marketplace, but I can definitely appreciate that there is obviously a significant crowd that grew up on EQOA and with whom it left and indellible impression and love for the franchise and genre.  That tells me that the game was worth something, with a certainty.  

    EQ was such a fantastic world and came at such a perfect time during the explosion of multiplayer gaming... I'm glad you guys had a version of Norrath to enjoy for a few years.  

     

     

    • 279 posts
    November 22, 2016 4:24 PM PST

    Hannar said:

    Super lame and unpopular opinion: I hated EQOA.  At the time, I was die hard into EverQuest, and really didn't like the fact that they were expanding it to a console audience... I was resistent to the push towards voice chat... I still remember the ridiculous argument I always made: "MMORPGs are about the dissimenation and analysis of textual and statistical information in a role playing environment."  And in truth, I still wish that was how it played out... I don't love voice chat in these games... but I also prefer a forum environment to Twitch and Youtube.... so that's just an old guy not getting his way.  As time has moved on, I realize that the progress was inevitable.  I do wonder if trying to push the boundaries of the genre is what has left us in this particular environment where there is no true "old school" MMORPG left to enjoy in the major marketplace, but I can definitely appreciate that there is obviously a significant crowd that grew up on EQOA and with whom it left and indellible impression and love for the franchise and genre.  That tells me that the game was worth something, with a certainty.  

    EQ was such a fantastic world and came at such a perfect time during the explosion of multiplayer gaming... I'm glad you guys had a version of Norrath to enjoy for a few years.  

    It didn't have voice chat though. I wouldn't say it was a newschool type mmorpg either. It wasn't as advanced as EQ in all aspects but it was still oldschool. It had grinding, limited quests and the main focus on grouping. 

    • 188 posts
    November 22, 2016 4:43 PM PST

    Oh, I know EQOA wasn't pushing voice chat, but at the time that was where a lot of the console vs. PC discussion was being pushed for future MMORPGs.  It was a dumb and short sighted discussion overall.  I was just lame 15 years ago (more so than today).

    • 1778 posts
    November 30, 2016 6:51 AM PST

    Thought people might be interested, but on MassivelyOP.com I saw that some group was attempting to put together a EQOA Emulator. They were doing a shout out for people to help with tech skills.

    • 363 posts
    November 30, 2016 2:37 PM PST

    My son played EQOA for a bit. He saw me playing EQ1 and asked if he could get the PS version. He had fun with it for about 6 months or so. Me? I couldn't get used to the damned 2 thumb controller.

    • 62 posts
    May 23, 2018 5:54 AM PDT

    I know this thread hasn't been commented on in a while, and I doubt anyone will have anything to say afterwards, but I saw it and couldn't help myself.

    EQOA was also my first love, like some of you have mentioned.  Wilsef said it right up there about "the pangs of withdrawl and nostalgia."  I get it so often that I look up videos on YouTube just to hear the sound effects and the old ass character animations, lol.  I was only 13 when the game came out, but I played it until I was 18 and even tripple boxed after I became good at it.  I miss having a game like that, that I could sink so much time into.  It was the greatest social experience of my life, and I sincerely hope that Pantheon takes some themes from EQOA... because it is what gave me a love for MMOs.  I think a lot of EQOA for me, too, was the fact that you could sit back and relax on a couch and play, rather than use a keyboard and mouse and be stuck in a chair.  Nothing wrong with keyboard and mouse, of course, especially for EQ -- though mostly because it was so slow paced.  I can't stand all these MMOs on the PC these days that are all action based and so fast moving that you can't have a TEXT-BASED social interaction with the other players.  The groups area ALWAYS moving, rather than sitting and camping in one spot.  I know we have Vent and Discord and whatever other team speak crap there is, but to be honest, I don't care for voice chat.  It simply breaks the immersion for me when a big beefy tank has the voice of an 8 year old child, or the sorceress has the voice of a 45 year old man-child, lol.

    ANYWAY, I digress.  EQOA was great, and I hope to see a lot of things from EQOA put into Pantheon.  For instance, I read another thread that talked about death penalties, and one of the GMs said an option was xp debt.  I loved EQOA's debt system.  It was penalty enough that you didn't want to die, but it wasn't horrid enough that you had to spend a lot of time trying to get your body back or risk losing items, and you could work off the debt through xp grinds.

    But meh, that's all I have to say about it.  Glad to see there are a lot of other people out there that miss EQOA as much as I do.  Maybe that emulator will work out in the end, maybe not... but at least we'll have Pantheon!

    • 9 posts
    September 7, 2018 9:23 PM PDT

    Man, my friend introduced me to this game and it was like drugs. So many things I could talk about powerleveling, using various glitches like pet pling or "say" slow cast cancel glitch. The scarecrow with the 1hp debuff as an enchanter. That club from the goblin quest you could use to solo goblins well above your level. Enchanting the huge bear by DM and taking it to town. That OP undead D's people were using to pl like crazy. The fact lycanthropy was a thing. I found a way to charm sea creatures and bring them up on land. Raging rhinos, merks, moots, phants, kappas, those treants by clw, clops, clockworks and many more camps! The nostalgia is unreal, remember the pox that went around? Staff of faykind was awesome and while the game was frustrating at times it was still great for its time. Hopefully one day it will be here to play once again.

    • 42 posts
    February 19, 2019 1:48 PM PST

    EQOA was my first MMO as well.  I watched my friend play EQ, but I didn't have a powerful enough PC to play, so I got EQOA for the PS2 and played it almost daily for over 7 years.  For those who don't know, all servers were shut down back in 2012 and the IPs are owned by different parties and the server technology is so old it can't be brought back.  

    • 16 posts
    March 3, 2019 8:46 AM PST

    I miss EQOA as well - Airinya from Ferran's Hope here. :)

    • 3237 posts
    June 16, 2019 8:38 AM PDT

     

    Best MMO world ever.