Comparing EverQuest Legends and Project Gorgon

While playing EverQuest Legends, I can't help but compare it to Project Gorgon. I was kind of a poster child for Project Gorgon like six years ago, singing praises for anyone who would listen! When I lost my game design job, I actually reached out to them asking if they needed another for their team . . . they did not and could not, but Sandra was sympathetic and cool. (She was a good soul RIP.)

PG is a skills-based game where you can (almost) infinitely level a player's skills in any number of combat styles, mixing and matching to your heart's content, resetting and rethinking builds on the fly. While playing, I started out as an Animal Handler (of course . . . because I'm a beastlord through and through) and mixed it with Fire Magic, Shield, Knife, and eventually embraced the full beast inside, turning into a Fox / Animal Handling combo.

Me, my illusion, and my Fire Rat Pet in Project Gorgon overlooking the Fae Realm

EQL on the other hand, while you can level skills, is a class-based game where you can (almost) infinitely level all the classes, mixing and matching to your heart's content, resetting and rethinking builds on the fly . . . and not just two skills, but THREE classes!

I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I started this journey: a Beastlord and a Cleric. Those were the two classes I played in original EverQuest, it was a moral imperative that those be my two classes. Shadowknight was just a happy accident that I stumbled upon because I wanted something kind of tanky and awesome. 

A mummy that's also a ninja monk . . . quirky, like Project Gorgon

Now that I'm at max level, I'm not sure I want to switch to anything else just yet (also because this latest patch seemed to buff beastlord pets) . . . Although, being a bard or an enchanter or a berserker could also be amazing. Swapping out Beastlord for Magician could be fun. There are OPTIONS, which is great. 

That ability to swap around your build just wasn't a part of EverQuest Classic unless you wanted to start a new character or multibox. Later, they added spirit shroud forms so you could play as a different class and be the same but different (also so you could group with your low-level friends). It didn't really stick, and they never improved the system (/sigh). Even later, they added mercenaries so you could get the power of more than your class without multiboxing.

Life was legitimately hard in EverQuest playing as a soloing Evil Eye.

Beyond that, PG and EQL both have that old-school, early 2000's computer game charm about them. Back in 2019 I talked about converting to a paying player in Project Gorgon and listed off seven reasons:

1- Oodles of skills and combinations of skills to play with.

2- Quirky charm. 

3- Good Danger Balance. 

4- Nice people. 

5- The price is right. 

6- Demo Level cap at the right spot.

7- Nostalgia trip. 

I would say that all of that is clicking for me with this version of EverQuest. Unfortunately, there's no demo of this game, but if there were, I'd put that cap right at 15. And to the Project Gorgon people, I would have upped your game and included a subscription (Not just a VIP Membership program). To be honest, I might not have played your game as long as I did if I were paying for a membership. I'm fickle like that, but if you had, maybe you could have hired me as a designer! I would have loved to work on your game! As I was taught, you kind of have to be an ASS (Always Sell Something) when you're in games to, not just survive, but to grow.

Anyway, I'm glad I jumped on the EverQuest Legends bandwagon at the launch here. I think there's something there. The Nostalgia trip is strong, the price is right, there's a good danger balance (not nearly as punishing as old EverQuest), and the people in my guild are nice (let's not talk about general chat too much in any MMO). 

( . . . I just remembered the Runes of Magic had a dual-class system. Man, I'm a sucker for this stuff.)

Happy Dueling