Everquest Nostalgia Time

I highly doubt there will ever be a time, 12 years down the road (in the year 2020), when Wizard101 will open a "progression version" of their game where you get to play Wizard101 as it was in 2008 and slowly unlock all the expansions after the end boss of each expansion was defeated! *GASP*

Completely ridiculous.  That would be the lamest thing ever.  The Wizard101 pros would unlock the game blindingly fast.  You'd have Dragonspyre, Grizzleheim, and Celestia open in like a week or two and there’s really no benefit to that.  Wizard101 just isn't built like that, but Everquest, that dusty old first generation MMO where it took years to level your character and where you'd need 50 or so people to raid the end boss of the world ... Yes, in Everquest they WOULD do that and ARE doing that . . . for a second time even.

Yesterday Sony revealed the Fippy Darkpaw server, where you get to play Everquest as it *kind of* was back in 1999.  Since I'm an old Everquest hand, I thought . . . ok . . . I'm in.  I missed all the hubbub with the Sleeper Server when they did this exact same thing maybe four years ago? Should be fun! Right?

Indeed, I had every plan of joining the fray immediately after work yesterday!  WOOT!  A NIGHT OF OLD SCHOOL EQ!  BRING IT! Then uber wife called and told me I had to tote the kids around to karate. OH, PAINS OF PAINS!  I moped and whined and didn't want to do it at all.  I even twittered about having to break my date with EQ. Uber wife was not impressed.

As soon as I was done with the whole karate thing for Amber and Kyle, I raced home and logged on Everquest . . . only pausing slightly for dinner! EXCITEMENT!  OLD SCHOOL EQ HERE I COME!

Uber wife thought this all was extremely dumb, and it was.  I was being dumb.  The moment I logged in to Qeynos with Stingite, my moustache-clad level 1 human necromancer, I was immediately lost.


When I was playing EQ the first time around, I avoided Qeynos like the plague anyway.  It’s a freaking maze—complete with false walls. I even had to make a second necromancer character just to remember how to get back to my guild master (silly me, I forgot to get my free starter robe!) to buy some additional spells.

 
There we go, that's better (like 3 hours later . . .)

The hilarity of being killed by a shark while totally lost in the sewer of Qeynos was not lost on me.  I was sucking big time at this game I felt was my old mistress (again uber wife was not amused).


Anyway, when I finally made it outside the gates of Qeynos and killed a number of rats, it was easy to see that it was a rat race, literally.  It was freaking hilarious to see all these people jogging around killing stuff in classic Everquest on the opening night of the Fippy server.


Uber wife was cruelly persistent with comments over my shoulder as she watched. “People actually played this crappy game and thought it was fun?”  LOL.  Hey, she’s honest.  The starting game there was pretty crappy.  It didn’t get awesome until you were grouping with your buddies and making jokes.  You know?

Someone in out of character chat rambled on about how Everquest was turned into a “D grade” raiding game from the “A grade” grouping game that it was.  That person was immediately told to go back to WoW by all the people listening in.  But, hey, he was honest.  I don’t know about the D grade.  Maybe B grade . . .

Speaking of the grouping game . . . what had me really laughing was seeing people run past me four-boxing their newbie characters on four separate accounts.  Then it struck me . . . this *is* completely ridiculous. This *is* pretty lame (not the lamest thing ever, but ... ).  The Everquest pros will unlock the game blindingly fast.  You’ll have Kunark open in like a month or two.  Everquest, that dusty old first generation MMO where it took years to level your character has a talent pool that’s every bit as deep and experienced as it should be.  This is their game.  They still play it.  They know how to win it.

People joked about how there were already level 11 players farming experience in Unrest.  Level 11!  When I first played Everquest, it took me at least a month to get to level 11!

Meh, I’ve changed.  Times have changed. I don’t have the steam, time, or lack of real-world commitments to play that kind of a game anymore.  It was fun for a night, but I doubt I’ll be back for more.

Hmmm, maybe if I had a full group of people that wanted to play with me every night in Everquest until heck froze over . . .  but I don’t have that (My two-hour long Sunday night DDO group is as close as I get anymore).  I’m definitely not up to doing the pickup group scene, and I definitely don’t have four Everquest accounts at my disposal, so best of luck Fippy server!  You were fun for a night!  You’ll have your champions.  I know you’ll do well without me. (Why is it that when I type that I got the itch to log on again? That Everquest is such an old addiction for me.)

Happy dueling