Ragefire, the new EQ progression server, is launching May 20th! That turnaround is incredible, and pretty much what I expected when Daybreak started hinting at a new progression server. Ragefire has only been in “beta testing” for a couple of days, but things seem to be smooth enough for Daybreak to flip the switch in just over a week.
I decided to play in the beta to test out what was different from true classic, figure out what class I was sure to play, and honestly get my feet wet with a version of EverQuest I haven’t played. My time in EverQuest was 1999-2003’ish, then on and off again for a little bit. I never got to see much of the major changes to the game, as my era was classic and dabbling a little bit beyond. Spending so much time in Project 1999, coming to this new version of EverQuest was quite a bit of a change.
The class I’ve decided on is a Wood Elf Bard. Something about the Bard class has always appealed to me. I think it’s the unmatched support role this class can play by providing all sorts of stat and combat increases, lull, mez, run speed, mana regen, etc. Bard is the class to play if you want to be useful, and feel like your group members can’t live without you.
Thus far in the beta I have reached level 8. I quickly realized that this version of EverQuest is a little bit easier than P99. Mobs do not seem to hit as hard — something in the math must be different. Experience is definitely faster too. I killed a bunch of blue to yellow con mobs around Kelethin until level 4Â then went into Crushbone until around level 5. Turning in a bunch of bone chips and Crushbone belts to the NPCs in Kaladim brought me up to level 7 where I just started camping mobs with a friend until level 8. It all went very smooth.
Many quality of life improvements exist in this version of EQ. Things like auto loot (advanced loot) have taken a little getting used to, but I think I’m starting to like how this loot management will help make looting go smoother for me and a group. Death still means losing experience and having to get your body for a res, but at least you won’t lose your gear. Stuff like that makes playing a little less stressful, but still close enough to the original EQ experience to enjoy.
Playing on Ragefire will require All Access Membership – $14.99/m with the typical discounts for buying more time upfront. Kronos are EQ’s version of the in-game item that grants game-time. Basically they can be bought for $18 and traded in-game for anything. I think they are a bit stupid. Kronos stimulate hardcore farming for people to pay for their multiboxing. Farming was already the name of the game in EQ, and further enticing people to lockdown camps should make things interesting.
I’m going into this with a realistic view. I will never be a raider in EverQuest. You probably won’t be either. The raids will be locked down by the hardcore elites who never stopped playing. (In case you didn’t know, raids aren’t instanced. If a boss spawns, only one group gets it.) The camps for the super rare items will also be locked down. End-game will not be a fantastic experience for the 99%, so I’m going into this not expecting to participate. If it happens, that’s just super; if not then I will enjoy having leveled up and participated once again in a huge rush of nostalgia. You see, EverQuest has always been about the journey for me. I’m going to take it slow, group with friends, and adventure in Norrath.
I’ll keep you all updated with regular adventure logs, screenshots, and feedback on my EQ Ragefire experience. If you want to join in on the fun with a few of us, visit our EverQuest forum. We’re always happy to meet friendly new people.
I’ve had fun playing the beta on Ragefire so far. I am glad the server is opening sooner rather than later.
I actually like the fact that it is not quite as hardcore as original EQ in not having the corpse runs and a little faster XP gain. Like most of us, I have less time to play now than I did when I was in college playing EQ.
I am also going to try and make this about the journey. Even when I was playing in college I never got high enough to do raid content and I petered out when DAoC released. So, I suffer from no delusions that I will be participating in raiding this go around.
I am probably going to roll a paladin just for nostalgia’s sake since that was my main from before.
Will there be an official K&G guild on Ragefire? Or is there maybe a guild the community is partnering with?
@Balthazar: We’ll have a guild. EQ doesn’t need hardcore big huge guilds unless you plan to raid (good luck if you do!). Even if our guild is 5 people, that’s fine. Unlike other games, people in EQ tend to group with people outside of their guild. We don’t need a huge guild to do content so we tend to keep it just who we want to play with or talk with regularly.
I said I was done with EQ but I lied. I hopped on Ragefire and have been really enjoying myself. It will never be the same as the original experience in 1999 but like Balthazar I was in college then and have a 40+ hour a week job now, wife, kids, dogs, etc so I don’t mind some things not being as they were, especially corpse runs.
I didn’t do much raiding back then and don’t expect to do a ton this time around though I am hopeful I can experience some of it.
Hope to see you guys in-game and do some grouping!
There a way to pay for the subscription with daybreak cash? I have a ton from when I left my sub running while playing Planetside 2. $15 kind of sucks for a 15 year old game.
The graphics are pretty jarring even compared to FFXI but I think I can get the game/UI to handle pretty damn close to modern MMO. I guess that’s the advantage of this server – the classic experience with a good number of minor (but impactful) QoI improvements.
@Krigare: $15/month or pay with a Krono you obtain in-game from someone. Daybreak Cash (which I have a lot of myself) isn’t usable for this. I love the graphics. Something about them is so charming. And yes, lots of QoL improvements that weren’t in the original.
My raiding in EQ with 72 was later in my EQ career, after several years of a break, but by far the most memorable. I don’t think at launch we even had raid functionality, and a group was as big as you could officially do. I assume they left raid functionality in for this?
I still have time to raid every night, I just find it more worthwhile to “raid” my real job and build up Xp and get paid more real dollars. I wish I had stumbled on this decades ago.
Do you guys think that someone who had never played EQ in any form could get into this kind od server?
I played DAoC from the release so i can presume what to expect from mmorpg thats 15ish years old.
Thanks!
The beta is free to try right now @evang and you want to hop on ventrillo (info on forums) I can help you out
@Evang: I definitely think someone like you with oldschool DAoC experience can get into this kind of game. Like Bartillo said, hop on our forums or ventrilo and we can help you out!
Evang. I think you could. I think you would find some pretty high hurdles with the graphics and lack the nostalgia that might let others overlook it.
Thanks everyone,will definitely check it out then,didn’t know that beta is available.
And my apologies for my English i haven’t played online games for a while so I’m pretty rusty hehe.